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Beebo

Firm and Fruity
Location
Hexleybeef
Joe Hart must be a worried man.
Anyone else think that Pep Guardiola will be looking for a new keeper.
He wont accept basic mistakes that we saw in the wales and iceland games.
 

screenman

Squire
BREAKING NEWS !!!!!!!!

England Chiefs have noticed that Iceland have fielded an ineligible player for the last 2 games, which means they could actually be disqualified, and that could put England back in the Euro cup. Check it out on the BBC website. It's right. England appealed to FIFA only 25 mins ago. If their claim is upheld it will mean they are through to the last few, + could actually be on their way to be champions
Carlsberg don't do messages for delusional English dreamers who STILL think they can win everything. But if they did... this would probably have been the best message in the world.
wink.png
 

Lonestar

Veteran
BREAKING NEWS !!!!!!!!

England Chiefs have noticed that Iceland have fielded an ineligible player for the last 2 games, which means they could actually be disqualified, and that could put England back in the Euro cup. Check it out on the BBC website. It's right. England appealed to FIFA only 25 mins ago. If their claim is upheld it will mean they are through to the last few, + could actually be on their way to be champions
Carlsberg don't do messages for delusional English dreamers who STILL think they can win everything. But if they did... this would probably have been the best message in the world.
wink.png


No thanks mate.I couldn't go through this crap again.Scotland had the right idea.Go out early and get the pain over with.
 

Sixmile

Guru
Location
N Ireland
Yebbut qualifying was a huge event, and you gave it a good go against much better-resourced teams. Lots to be proud of...

You're right. Qualifying as a 5th seed out of 6 was incredible. We didn't scrape through the backdoor like our southern counterparts either, but actually won the group! It was handy that the 1st seeds (Greece) were managed by an absolutely clueless, useless and ineffective manager called Ranieri or something. Thanks for the 6 points Claudio!

In all seriousness, I think the fact that England always get fairly easy qualifying groups is a problem in itself. The first decent competitive test and they struggle. The English fans I've no problem with, but the media well, it's so biased and arrogant towards us lesser nations that I love it when they have to eat their words. Ray Wilkins said NI wouldn't score never mind win a game. Manesh, Dion Dublin & Trevor Sinclair when talking about NI highlights were talking about 'that guy', 'the winger', the 'big lad', not a touch of research to see what our players were called! Then when Iceland scored the last minute winner verses Austria, the camera goes back to the studio were Lineker, Shearer and co couldn't hide their sniggering about now playing Iceland instead of Portugal and the disrespect was flowing out of them.
 

AndyRM

XOXO
Location
North Shields
In all seriousness, I think the fact that England always get fairly easy qualifying groups is a problem in itself. The first decent competitive test and they struggle.

This. So much.

It does England no favours whatsoever to scoosh an easy qualifying group then have the media go into "we're unbeaten in ages" overdrive.

I suppose that it's not really their fault, when FIFA have had them in their ridiculous Top Ten for so long over the years. Though I suspect they will fall a bit lower than 11th now.
 
U

User482

Guest
You're right. Qualifying as a 5th seed out of 6 was incredible. We didn't scrape through the backdoor like our southern counterparts either, but actually won the group! It was handy that the 1st seeds (Greece) were managed by an absolutely clueless, useless and ineffective manager called Ranieri or something. Thanks for the 6 points Claudio!

In all seriousness, I think the fact that England always get fairly easy qualifying groups is a problem in itself. The first decent competitive test and they struggle. The English fans I've no problem with, but the media well, it's so biased and arrogant towards us lesser nations that I love it when they have to eat their words. Ray Wilkins said NI wouldn't score never mind win a game. Manesh, Dion Dublin & Trevor Sinclair when talking about NI highlights were talking about 'that guy', 'the winger', the 'big lad', not a touch of research to see what our players were called! Then when Iceland scored the last minute winner verses Austria, the camera goes back to the studio were Lineker, Shearer and co couldn't hide their sniggering about now playing Iceland instead of Portugal and the disrespect was flowing out of them.

I think you're right. I don't know any England fans with unrealistic expectations (ok, I didn't think we'd be quite as awful as we were, and would come unstuck in the quarter final) but ITV's relentless cheerleading during the group games got right on my wick. No, Wrighty, we didn't "batter" them, they just sat back and defended comfortably against a team that was completely incapable of using width, pace or space. Slaven Bilic was the only dissenting voice; notably he's a) not English and b) a successful manager.

The thing is, I've seen lots of comments that the players don't care and aren't good enough. I don't think that's true: Harry Kane wouldn't get in the Tottenham reserves with performances like that (and you can say similar about the rest of them), but it's not as if he stood there not trying, so what is it about pulling on an England shirt that makes them so utterly clueless?

I think there's probably a lesson from the rugby union team. A total laughing stock at our own world cup, yet less than one year later England have the grand slam and a 3-0 away victory over Australia, with largely the same group of players. Perhaps they should give the football job to Eddie Jones...

Edited to add: the only advantage of being humiliated by Iceland is that there is no possibility of the excuses that would have been made had we lost to Germany or France.
 

Sixmile

Guru
Location
N Ireland
The thing is, I've seen lots of comments that the players don't care and aren't good enough. I don't think that's true: Harry Kane wouldn't get in the Tottenham reserves with performances like that (and you can say similar about the rest of them), but it's not as if he stood there not trying, so what is it about pulling on an England shirt that makes them so utterly clueless?

Do you think the players do care enough though? I mean, you're talking about guys who are all millionaires, major celebrities, totally out of touch with reality from their teenage years onwards. The impression I get is that they seem more concerned with their ridiculous tattoos, fancy hairdos and jumping off the team bus with big dopey headphones on in case they are exposed to noise from the 'commoners' who've stood for hours to get a glimpse of their idols.

Not that I watched much of Kane last season, bar MOTD highlights, does he always take the corners and free kicks for Spurs? I mean I thought our dead balls by Ollie Norwood (Reading FC) were uncharacteristically poor but then I saw England's.

Speaking as an NI fan, I love the fact that our players for years drove themselves time after time to catch airplanes to fly back to NI to represent their country even though we got duffed by the mighty Canadas and Luxembourgs of this world. That Aaron Hughes flew back from Australia for every qualifier to sit on the bench. The fact that on match day against Wales in the last 16 of the Euros, our captain Steven Davis still had time to sort out tickets for 3 of us to get into the ground. To me, that tells me that they care.
 

Ajay

Veteran
Location
Lancaster
I think you're right. I don't know any England fans with unrealistic expectations (ok, I didn't think we'd be quite as awful as we were, and would come unstuck in the quarter final) but ITV's relentless cheerleading during the group games got right on my wick. No, Wrighty, we didn't "batter" them, they just sat back and defended comfortably against a team that was completely incapable of using width, pace or space. Slaven Bilic was the only dissenting voice; notably he's a) not English and b) a successful manager.

The thing is, I've seen lots of comments that the players don't care and aren't good enough. I don't think that's true: Harry Kane wouldn't get in the Tottenham reserves with performances like that (and you can say similar about the rest of them), but it's not as if he stood there not trying, so what is it about pulling on an England shirt that makes them so utterly clueless?

I think there's probably a lesson from the rugby union team. A total laughing stock at our own world cup, yet less than one year later England have the grand slam and a 3-0 away victory over Australia, with largely the same group of players. Perhaps they should give the football job to Eddie Jones...

Edited to add: the only advantage of being humiliated by Iceland is that there is no possibility of the excuses that would have been made had we lost to Germany or France.
What we do have in England are the best marketeers, Diddi Hamman's comments on RTE after the game were spot on, 'we've been sold a Lamborghini and got a Skoda'. The Premier League is light years away from being the best league in the world yet the spin of its marketing tells us otherwise.
Of course ITV will cheerlead, their coverage only exists to keep us tuned in til the adverts come on. One would hope for a little more objectivity from the BBC, Shearer tried, but it was too late, they all knew Hodgson didn't know his best 11 and didn't have a recognisable game plan throughout the build up, so why the shock and surprise now?
Of course we can't break down an organised defence, we don't have the creative/technical players at our 'big clubs' (the ones from which our manager must select on commercial grounds no doubt). Look at the starmen in terms of game changers
Leicester - Mahrez
Arsenal - Ozil
Spurs - Lamela
City - Silva
Liverpool - Coutinho
West Ham - Payet
Etc etc etc
No premier league teams best player is english.
Other nations are able to forge strong, organised squads from players not necessarily at top clubs, we could too. Unfortunately money talks, so we must resign ourselves to the same old shoite and just be grateful that we have the world's most exciting league to watch.:whistle:

Oh, and if it were my choice I'd give Raffa the job.
 
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